LATE NIGHT ALL STAR KARAOKE BAND

LATE NIGHT ALL-STAR COMEDY BAND THANG

Umbrella Revolution

Saturday nights (technically Sunday morning) 12:30am

Ever been to karaoke?

You know how sometimes the people getting up to sing are a little bit not good?
And that along with being bad singers there’s nothing to watch?

Well image if you gathered together a whole bunch of stand-up comedians (nature’s show off’s) to do karaoke, it’s a whole different story. Certainly some are stronger singers than others, but they are all fantastically funny, used to being on stage and having a mic in their hands.

You should just clear your Saturday night late night schedule for the next three weeks right now. Adelaide comedian JASON CHONG has put together a garage band (including fellow comedians John Brooks, Jason Pastell, amongst others) as the house band and each week a mess of comedians get up and sing the karaoke classics while trying desperately to upstage each other and plug their respective Fringe shows. A delayed start because of earlier shows running late means it’s a little later start than advertised but those who didn’t have to get up in the morning were richly rewarded.

After a couple of numbers by the band (including Ghostbusters), they start bringing on the guest comedians. Chris Knight & Angus Hodge throw an entertainingly shambolic 500 Miles (Proclaimers) into the mix early sharing one microphone and one pair of glasses. Gordon Southern does Peaches by Presidents of The United States of America and revs the crowd up with a sing-a-long. Mike Klimzak congratulates Jason on his engagement, then sings Rick Springfield’s Jessie’s Girl, with some lyrical amendments. After dancing with The Burlesque Beauties and their ramshackle version of Umbrella by Rhianna, Dave Callan gets the audience doing the Woo Hoo bits of Song 2 (blur) with new lyrics (I’ve had a big bum, Since I was young, Looks like a big plum, It’s not my problem). Mark Trenwith busts out Super Freak by Rick James and throws in a bit of U Can’t Touch This (with Hammertime dancing) for good measure.

I should mention by now the audience is in a lather, they are not dancing but they are stomping their feet, punching the air and singing along at the top of their lungs. Johan Beardraven from The Beards appears to sing Never Tear Us Apart (INXS) and as a professional singer, he blows the roof off the tent, especially when he runs off stage to grab a saxophone and does that classic solo note perfect. George Kapiniaris gets a girl out of the audience to hold his nose while singing Video Killed the Radio Star (a highlight). Hans Brokenhymen arrives in a glittering onesy and two chairs. He has chosen The Divynls classic I Touch Myself and he is climbing over the audience, pole dancing, grinding folk in the audience and finishes with an impressive splits using the two chairs. There are others including the excellent Marcel Lucont & Dave Thornton. It was a thigh slapping, side splitting romp all the way through. Seeing these comedians away from their respective shows, off the script, just doing something really fun is a joy to behold. Johan from the Beards returns for a show stopping You’re the Voice and they are joined on stage by a chorus line of other comedians and it’s utterly fantastic. DON’T MISS THE OTHER SHOWS!